Harper Says Canada Wants U.S. Cooperation on Oil Rules

By Andrew Mayeda -
Dec 19, 2013

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said his government would prefer to act in tandem with
the U.S. to cut carbon emissions in the energy industry.

“Our government is certainly prepared to work with the
United States on a regulatory regime that will bring our
emissions down,” Harper said in an interview with Global News
today, according to a transcript provided by the television
network. “This would be best done if we could do this in
concert with our major trading partner, given as I say it is a
seamless industry in North America.”

Canada hopes to implement such a regime “over the next
couple of years,” he said.

Harper’s comments come amid a U.S. review of TransCanada
Corp. (TRP)’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would link
Alberta’s oil sands to refineries on the Gulf Coast. The State
Department is preparing a final version of an environmental
assessment that will evaluate whether the conduit would add to
greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet.

Obama said in June that he wouldn’t approve the project if
it significantly exacerbated the “problem of carbon
pollution.” While Canada has imposed regulations to cut
emissions by operations such as coal-fired power plants, it has
yet to do so for crude and natural gas producers.

Harper also said in the interview his government hoped to
reduce debt and introduce tax breaks that help middle-class
families.

“We want to make sure our debt levels continue to come
down over the next few years,” he said. “They’re not at any
kind of crisis now but it’s just another part of securing a long
run fiscal advantage.”